Chapter 1: Overview

Purpose of this book

This book is intended to teach you how to obtain (or write) and install scripts written in PHP. The installation process is very much the same as it is for scripts written in any other language - but is usually a LOT easier with PHP.

By providing you with some complete scripts, some functions and the tools for combining them in new ways, I hope to teach you a "mix-and-match" approach to solving scripting tasks and building dynamic web sites. I believe that if you follow the principles taught here, you can be installing PHP scripts on your Web server/site in a very short time. With a little more effort, you'll be designing entire web sites that are dynamic, functional and easy to maintain.

Friends, this is not rocket science! It's simply a skill you have not yet acquired. There was a time (come on...admit it) when you didn't even know how to "surf the Web." You mastered that easily enough, didn't you? You can pick this up almost as easily. Once you've got it, you'll see that it really wasn't all that hard.

What you will learn

First, you will learn what PHP is, what a script is and how it works. Then, you will learn about functions and how they can be re-used to save lots of time and effort. You'll discover where to find free PHP scripts and how to get them. You'll find out how to take a useful function from one script and use it in another script.

By applying what you've learned, you'll be able to create whole new scripts "out of thin air" by putting together pieces you found here and elsewhere.

You'll discover how PHP can make your Web site more interactive and how to make it perform repetitive tasks automatically. Your Web site should be able to work for you like a tireless employee. Your knowledge of PHP scripts will make all this possible.

You will learn how to install a script on your Web server. We will cover 1) using FTP to get the script into the right place, 2) setting file permissions so the script can be run and 3) connecting the script to your Web pages. You'll also see how to mix PHP and HTML on the same page for greater power and flexibility. Just wait till you see how PHP can make your site easier to update and maintain. You will see how to tell whether the script is working properly and how to fix most common problems that keep a script from behaving as intended.

You will learn how to collect the email addresses of your visitors, add them to your mailing list and follow up with sales letters or other information. By doing this, you'll be able find new prospects and turn them into paying customers. You'll learn how to take payments and give receipts - online and by email. You'll see how to do any math you need to do and how to display properly formatted dollar amounts. Users of other currencies may need to modify these routines somewhat, but the principles will still apply.

You'll learn how to save data you collect in a database and extract usable information from that data. You will learn how to deliver error pages, thank-you pages and customized pages that are unique to each visitor during their stay at your Web site.

Copyright © 2004 Steve Humphrey